18yo has legs severed by train at Taree in NSW: Police 'had rocks thrown at them' at scene

Emergency workers were verbally abused and had rocks thrown at them as they tried to assist an 18-year-old man who had his legs severed by a train on the New South Wales mid-north coast, police say.

The incident occured at a railway crossing, the Bushland Drive Crossing in Taree about 4:30am (AEDT) on Sunday.

Police said initial inquiries suggested the man, Adrian Simon, was celebrating his birthday at a home near the railway line before he was hit by the train.

He was taken to hospital in a serious condition, with both legs severed above the knee.

The driver managed to stop the train soon after the accident and was taken to hospital for mandatory blood and urine testing.

Roderick Clark had been at the birthday party but left before the accident happened.

"I've spoken to the family. They say he's awake, he's talking," he said.

"He's aware of what happened. I got the chills when I heard he'd lost his legs."

Police are also investigating the actions of a group of people who threw rocks at police officers and the train driver, forcing them to take refuge in the train driver's cabin.

Paramedics were also blocked, pushed and verbally abused by the group as they tried to treat the man.

"It was disturbing that when the police arrived a group of people actually confronted police and the train driver, and a couple of police actually got hit by rocks which were being thrown," Inspector Christine George said.

"You know what, obviously these are tragic circumstances but there's no excuse for this type of behaviour.

"The police are investigating the incident and at this stage we will be looking to lay criminal charges against those people that attacked police when they were just responding and trying to save someone's life."

Taree Mayor Paul Hogan said he was concerned that emergency services were attacked at the scene.

"There is sorrow for what happened to this fellow but there's a lot of angst about what happened to the emergency services when they arrived," he said.